NSS Convention 2026

As NSS members, we commonly focus on protecting caves. We remove trash, repair formations, and mitigate negative impacts. Working with landowners and land managers, we sometimes even gate caves. Caves are a component of many (but not all) karst terrains and can be impacted by more than just trash, vandalism, and graffiti. There are many definitions of karst but a good working definition for cavers is a terrain characterized by the presence of soluble rock, sinkholes, sinking streams, caves, and springs. Karst commonly occurs in limestone, dolostone, and gypsum but can even occur in sandstone and granite give time. Basically, water enters the ground, flows through fractures, caves, and conduits, to emerge at springs. Karst is formed when dissolution is a significant geomorphic agent. Protecting the karst watershed (both the surface and groundwater basin) also protects the caves. Caves and karst can be impacted by land uses such as mining, overgrazing, timbering, landfills, pipelines, industrial activities, transportation corridors, illegal dumping, septic systems, oil and gas exploration and production, airports, urban development and impervious cover, and so on and on. We need to advance holistic approaches to protect caves and karst through education, investigations, public initiatives, conservation easements, regulations, and statutes.